Tag: Miami

Spurs waive Da’Sean Butler

The Spurs trimmed their roster to 19 players by waiving former West Virginia standout forward  Da’Sean Butler.

After leading West Virginia to the Final Four in 2010, Butler sustained a horrific knee injury in the national semifinals against Duke. After that injury, Butler’s draft status plummeted and eventually was picked up in the second round by Miami.

Butler was waived by the Heat during training camp and spent several months in basketball limbo until he was picked up the Spurs last March. He was immediately placed on the inactive list and worked hard to return to the form he had shown with the Mountaineers.

The Spurs’ roster move indicates they like their depth at small forward. Among the players  battling for playing time at the position include Richard Jefferson, rookie Kawhi Leonard and James Anderson among others.

Butler would have had difficulty cracking that rotation. But he will return to West Virginia as one of  the most popular players in that school’s basketball history.

Blake Griffin vs. Golden State will be another NBA Xmas game

The Spurs apparently have been shut out of one of the two remaining Christmas Day games still to be set in the five-game NBA extravaganza to kick off the season.

Citing league sources, the Contra Costa Times is reporting that for one of the featured games on opening day. 

Griffin is one of the brightest young stars in the league and Golden State  coach Mark Jackson, a former ABC/ESPN analyst, will be making his coaching debut in the game.

Because it will be played on the West Coast, the Golden State-Clippers game would be the last game played.

Games already set for telecast on that date include Chicago-Los Angeles Lakers, Miami-Dallas  and New York-Boston.

The other Dec. 25 game will be released Friday when the league provides its 2011-12 schedule.

KD starts courtship of Shane Battier

Kevin Durant realizes that Oklahoma City needs some improvement to be able to challenge NBA elite teams like Miami and Dallas in the playoffs.

And with all due respect for Thunder general manager Sam Presti, Durant isn’t leaving anything to chance as he attempts  to improve Oklahoma City’s roster.

It’s why Durant has already begun tweeting messages to potential free-agent forward Shane Battier about joining the Thunder.

Durant even wondered by Twitter if Battier with the Thunder.

Battier answered back his love of Oklahoma City steakhouses and his friendship with Nick Collison in his answer, seemingly showing some interest to joining one of the league’s emerging teams. “Hmmmmm, big selling points,” .

Battier has been one of the most popular potential free agents for the Spurs as well, gaining mention by several readers over the past several days as a strong addition to San Antonio’s roster.

But if the former Duke standout is going to be playing in Silver and Black, it might be time for the Spurs to start working on him quickly. He figures to be in high demand.